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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25029394">Let You In</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Somiko_Raven/pseuds/Somiko_Raven'>Somiko_Raven</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Getting Together, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Prompt Fill, Telepathy, Tumblr Prompt, X-Men: First Class (2011)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 08:08:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,725</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25029394</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Somiko_Raven/pseuds/Somiko_Raven</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Erik gives Charles his consent to enter his mind, but Charles is hesitant.</p><p>Charles POV added August 1, 2020.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>116</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Erik</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Prompt requested by Anonymous<br/>Prompt: "You ask me what I'm thinking about, I'll tell you that I'm thinking about whatever you're thinking about" - The Neighbourhood, 'Daddy Issues'</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Erik stared out their hotel room window. The lot was brightly lit, while the street was illuminated by headlights whenever vehicles drove past. There was a cool breeze coming in through the window screen.</p><p>Behind him, Charles was quietly reading. The telepath had stayed out of his mind since the first time they met and he saved Erik from drowning. There was no other way to communicate that time, but Erik did not know that Charles could rein it in so well, so easily.</p><p>Erik turned, seeing the way the bedside lamp lit his companion’s features. Charles looked tired, but he would never admit it. Erik knew he would politely wait for him to decide when the light went off, just like all the other nights they shared together on their journey to find others like them.</p><p>Going to the vacant bed, Erik sat down. “Charles, could I ask you something?”</p><p>He blinked a few times as he tore his eyes from the printed words on the page and then looked at Erik. “Yes?”</p><p>“Your mutation.”</p><p>“Is it bothering you?”</p><p>“No, not at all.”</p><p>Charles tilted his head. “What is it then?”</p><p>“How easy is it for you to control? I haven’t noticed you in my thoughts except for the one time.”</p><p>“And you won’t. My control will not slip, so you don’t have to worry.”</p><p>Shaking his head, Erik told him, “That is not what I asked.”</p><p>After a moment’s hesitation, Charles said, “I suppose I don’t understand the problem then.”</p><p>“Does it take a toll on you?” Erik asked.</p><p>Charles closed his book, resting it on his lap. “Why are you worried about that?”</p><p>“Because you are my friend.” <em> My only friend</em>, he did not add.</p><p>“Well,” the other man said as he set the book on the nightstand, “it does. But it is something I had to get used to over the years.”</p><p>“Why do you do that to yourself?”</p><p>“Because a person’s mind is their last place for privacy,” Charles explained. “I don’t want to invade that without someone’s consent unless it is necessary.”</p><p>“Like with the CIA agents?”</p><p>“Necessary actions.”</p><p>“They were,” Erik agreed. He leaned closer to Charles. “What if you didn’t have to hold it in so much though?”</p><p>“Oh really?”</p><p>“Yes. Charles… what if I gave consent for you to come in?”</p><p>“You don’t really know what you are consenting to, Erik.” Charles smiled. “But I do appreciate the gesture.”</p><p>“How bad would it be for you to enter my mind?” Erik wanted to know.</p><p>The smile faded. “Bad. My power is very invasive. A few seconds inside, and I know <em> everything</em>, Erik. Every thought, every memory, every… <em> everything</em>. There is no privacy when you really let a telepath in, and…” he sighed, “I really do not want you to hate me. So please do not ask for this.”</p><p>Erik thought it over. “Then you already know my past.” His gaze rose to Charles’ eyes. “You know what I have done. You know what I plan to do. The only things you will learn is what has changed since I met you.”</p><p>Charles said nothing, turning so he could face Erik fully.</p><p>“Go ahead and look,” Erik told him. “You might be surprised with what you find.”</p><p>After a calming breath, Charles nodded, his fingers at his temple to help direct his telepathy at Erik.</p><p>There was a light caress and then an enveloping warmth as Erik felt him enter. No voice accompanied it, only gentle waves everywhere. And after a few seconds of silence, he watched Charles’ face crack into a smile. “What are you thinking about now?” Erik asked him.</p><p>“You are asking what I’m thinking about?” Charles replied, still in Erik’s mind.</p><p>“Yes I am.”</p><p>“I am thinking about what you’re thinking about.” His smile grew. “You really think that?”</p><p>“You know the answer to that.”</p><p>He chuckled softly. “Oh, Erik.” His hand dropped, most of the connection severed but there was a lingering presence. “I find you ridiculously attractive as well.”</p><p>A sudden laugh broke out of Erik at the comment.</p><p>Charles didn’t need to mention the light Erik felt the man brought into his life. The fact that he felt warmer now than he had in years. Calmer, happier, always beside the adorable telepath that would light up at finding an article on science in the paper, or simply enjoying a cup of warm tea while barely awake.</p><p>It didn’t need to be said. They both knew what Erik thought. And Charles projected to Erik that he felt it too. He felt it too.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Charles</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Written in response to <a href="https://crystallized-iron.tumblr.com/post/625295969708376064/pov-and-first-from-the-no-excuses-writing-meme">this ask</a>.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Charles turned the page of his book, his eyes drifting over to Erik. The man’s back was turned to him as he watched the city outside their hotel room.</p>
<p>Charles wished he could know what was on the quiet man’s mind. He had learned so much those few seconds in the ocean when his control slipped, but had kept his distance since.</p>
<p>He rubbed at his eye and returned to his book, holding back a yawn. That very control was becoming more of a struggle to keep the longer they were together. Charles wanted to go home and rest properly without the need to restrict his telepathy so much.</p>
<p>Maybe after one more recruitment, they could go back. One more and he could rest and recharge. Just one more day. He could go one more day.</p>
<p>“Charles, could I ask you something?”</p>
<p>He blinked as he looked away from the book, seeing Erik on the other bed now. “Yes?”</p>
<p>“Your mutation.”</p>
<p>A bubble of anxiety began to build in his chest. Was the telepathy bleeding through his walls? “Is it bothering you?”</p>
<p>Erik’s face softened. “No, not at all.”</p>
<p>Charles tilted his head at that. “What is it then?”</p>
<p>“How easy is it for you to control?” the man asked him. “I haven’t noticed you in my thoughts except for the one time.”</p>
<p>“And you won’t,” Charles told him, relieved that everything was working as it should. “My control will not slip, so you don’t have to worry.”</p>
<p>Erik shook his head. “That is not what I asked.”</p>
<p>Narrowing his eyes, Charles thought for a moment before he said, “I suppose I don’t understand the problem then.”</p>
<p>“Does it take a toll on you?”</p>
<p>That was certainly not a question he ever expected to be asked. Charles closed his book and rested it on his lap. “Why are you worried about that?”</p>
<p>“Because you are my friend,” Erik answered.</p>
<p>“Well,” Charles said as he set the book on the nightstand, “it does.” He watched the way the light from the bedside lamp illuminated Erik’s face and he wanted to shift his focus to that rather than have this conversation. “But it is something I had to get used to over the years.”</p>
<p>“Why do you do that to yourself?”</p>
<p>“Because a person’s mind is their last place for privacy.” He remembered the last day he had been in Raven’s mind and caught a glimpse of something he was never meant to see, and the way she had screamed at him when she realized it. “I don’t want to invade that without consent unless it is necessary.”</p>
<p>“Like with the CIA agents?”</p>
<p>“Necessary actions,” he murmured.</p>
<p>Erik nodded. “They were.” Leaning closer to Charles, he said, “What if you didn’t have to hold it in so much though?”</p>
<p>“Oh really?”</p>
<p>“Yes. Charles…” He glanced down at his hands. “What if I gave consent for you to come in?”</p>
<p>Those words… It wasn’t much, but it was more than any who knew his power had been willing to give him for years. Charles smiled. Erik really was a good man, even though he tried to appear so cold at times. “You don’t really know what you are consenting to, Erik. But I do appreciate the gesture.”</p>
<p>“How bad would it be for you to enter my mind?” Erik questioned him.</p>
<p>As Charles stared back, his smile began to fade. “Bad.” Did Erik really not understand that? “My power is very invasive. A few seconds inside, and I know <em> everything</em>, Erik. Every thought, every memory, every… <em> everything</em>. There is no privacy when you really let a telepath in, and…” He sighed. Erik was his first friend since Raven. He couldn’t ruin that. “I really do not want you to hate me. So please do not ask for this.”</p>
<p>Silence filled the room as Charles waited for Erik to change his mind, but when Erik spoke again it was to say, “Then you already know my past.” His gaze rose to meet Charles’ eyes. “You know what I have done. You know what I plan to do. The only things you will learn is what has changed since I met you.”</p>
<p>Charles turned to face him fully now, still uncertain about doing this.</p>
<p>“Go ahead and look,” Erik told him. “You might be surprised with what you find.”</p>
<p>Charles tried to calm himself with a deep breath and then nodded. His fingers touched his temple, directing his power at Erik. There was light, so much light and warmth when before Erik’s mind had been cold and dark. A genuine calm washed over him, and happiness that Charles knew Erik hadn’t felt since he was young. Beyond the new emotions, Charles found images of himself simply… being himself. Small moments that Erik held onto so dearly, like Charles’ excitement over a new science article in the paper, or a quiet, tired morning with a warm cup of tea. In fact, all the new emotions seemed connected, one way or another, to Charles.</p>
<p>He could not help the smile that appeared on his lips.</p>
<p>“What are you thinking about?” Erik asked him.</p>
<p>“You are asking what I’m thinking about?” Charles replied as he enjoyed his friend’s welcoming mind some more.</p>
<p>“Yes I am.”</p>
<p>“I am thinking about what you’re thinking about.” His smile grew. “You really think that?”</p>
<p>“You know the answer to that.”</p>
<p>Charles softly chuckled, catching a new thought as it appeared. “Oh, Erik.” He dropped his hand, allowing their connection to break, but the warmth was still there, being shared between them. “I find you ridiculously attractive as well.”</p>
<p>The laugh that burst from his friend gave Charles the confidence to project back. <em> I feel the same way, my dear friend. </em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><div class="children module" id="children">
  <b class="heading">Works inspired by this one:</b>
  <ul>
    <li>
        <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25180447">Let You In</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ly_Raily/pseuds/Ly_Raily">Ly_Raily</a>
    </li>
  </ul>
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